Jeremiah 41

1 In the seventh month, Ishmael [son of Nethaniah, of the royal family] son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal [king’s] family and one of the king’s [high-ranking] chief officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah [governor of Judea] son of Ahikam at Mizpah [watchtower], and they ate [shared a meal together, devoured] a meal together [in unity, as one] there. word study 2 Then Ishmael [given by God] son of Nethaniah and the ten men [a group of ten, a decade] who were with him got up [rose, stood up, arose] and struck down [slew, smote, killed] Gedaliah [my brother has risen] son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan [rock badger, a type of animal], with the sword [a cutting instrument, a knife], killing [putting to death, slaying] the one whom the king [ruler, monarch] of Babylon [confusion, a city] had appointed [made, set] to govern [oversee, rule] the land [earth, territory]. word study 3 Ishmael [God will hear, a son of Nethaniah] also killed [slew, put to death] all [every single one] the Jews [people of Judah, descendants of Judah] who were [existed, present] with [near, in close relationship] Gedaliah [a governor of Judea, a leader] at [in the location of] Mizpah [a watchtower, a place of observation], as well as [in addition to] the Chaldean [from the region of Chaldea, a place of wisdom] soldiers [men of war, warriors] who were [found, discovered] there [in that place]. word study 4 On the second [following] day after the murder [slaying] of Gedaliah [the governor of Judea], when no one [man, individual] yet knew [was aware of, had knowledge of] about it [the event, the murder], word study 5 eighty [fourscore] men who had shaved off their beards [laying waste their facial hair], torn [rended] their garments [clothing or robes], and cut [gashed] themselves came from Shechem [a city in Palestine], Shiloh [a place of rest], and Samaria [watch mountain], carrying grain offerings [meal offerings, gifts to God] and frankincense [a white resin used for incense] for the house [dwelling place, temple] of the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God]. word study 6 And Ishmael [son of Nethaniah, of the royal family] son of Nethaniah [given by God] went out [to come forth, to emerge] from Mizpah [watchtower, a place of observation] to meet [encounter, come face to face with] them, weeping [shedding tears, lamenting] as he went [walked, proceeded]. When Ishmael encountered [met, came upon] the men, he said, “Come [approach, draw near] to Gedaliah [exalted by God] son of Ahikam [my brother has risen, a high-ranking official].” word study 7 And when they came [into the midst of] into the city [a place with a wall or a watchman], Ishmael [God will hear] son of Nethaniah [given of Jehovah] and the men [male persons or individuals] with him slaughtered [to slaughter, often used in the context of sacrifice or massacre] them and threw them into a cistern [a pit or a well, often used to hold water or as a prison]. word study 8 But ten [a decade, a small group] of the men [individuals, persons] among them said to Ishmael [God will hear], “Do not [refrain from] kill us, for we have [possess, are in possession of] hidden [secret, concealed] treasure [stores, riches] in the field [cultivated land, agricultural area]—wheat [grain, staple food], barley [cereal, crop], oil [olive oil, anointing oil], and honey [sweet, golden nectar]!” So he refrained [ceased, stopped] from killing them with the others [their brethren, companions]. word study 9 Now the cistern [pit, large hole] into which Ishmael [God will hear] had thrown all the bodies [corpse, dead bodies] of the men he had struck down [smiting, killing] along with Gedaliah [governor of Judea] was a large one [great hole] that King Asa [king of Judah] had made [constructed, prepared] for fear of Baasha [enemy] king of Israel [the nation, God’s chosen people]. Ishmael son of Nethaniah [given of Jehovah] filled it with the slain [killed, pierced]. word study 10 Then Ishmael [son of Nethaniah, a leader] took captive [as prisoners of war, to transport away] all the remnant [what was left, the remaining few] of the people of Mizpah [a watchtower, a place of observation]—the daughters [female children, women] of the king [the ruler, the monarch] along with all the others who remained [were left, survived] in Mizpah—over whom Nebuzaradan [a Babylonian general, the captain of the guard] captain of the guard had appointed [put in charge, entrusted] Gedaliah [a governor, a leader] son of Ahikam [a high-ranking official]. Ishmael [God will hear, a name] son of Nethaniah took them captive [as prisoners, to take away] and set off [began to walk, to journey] to cross over [to pass, to transition] to the Ammonites [a nation, the people of Ammon]. word study 11 When Johanan [son of God’s grace] son of Kareah and all [every single one] the commanders [leaders, captains] of the armies [military forces, troops] with him heard [listened, gave attention] of all [every kind of] the crimes [evil, wrongdoing] that Ishmael [God will hear] son of Nethaniah [given by God] had committed [done, carried out], word study 12 they took [gathered, assembled] all their men and went [proceeded, marched] to fight [engage in battle, wage war] Ishmael [God will hear, son of Nethaniah] son of Nethaniah [given of Jehovah]. And they found [discovered, encountered] him near [by, beside] the great [large, abundant] pool [waters, reservoir] in [at, within] Gibeon [a city of Benjamin]. word study 13 When all [every single one] the people [nation, community] with Ishmael [God will hear] saw Johanan [Jehovah has graced] son of Kareah [bald, bare] and all [every] the commanders [rulers, captains] of the army [military force, strength] with him, they rejoiced [were glad, shouted joyfully], word study 14 and all [every single one] the people [nation, community] whom Ishmael [God will hear] had taken captive [as prisoners of war, carried away] at Mizpah [watchtower, a place of observation] turned [to turn, surround] and went over [returned, came back] to Johanan [Jehovah has graced] son [descendant, offspring] of Kareah [bald, bare]. word study 15 But Ishmael [son of Nethaniah, of the royal family] son of Nethaniah [given of Jehovah] and eight [a special number] of his men escaped [to slip away to safety] from Johanan [Jehovah has graced] and went [to walk, to move] to [toward, in the direction of] the Ammonites [descendants of Lot, a neighboring nation]. word study 16 Then Johanan [son of a noble family] son of Kareah and all the commanders [captains of the forces, leaders] of the armies with him took the whole remnant [what was left, surviving group] of the people from Mizpah [watchtower, a place of observation] whom he had recovered [brought back, rescued] from Ishmael [God will hear, a son of Nethaniah] son of Nethaniah after Ishmael had killed [smitten, slain] Gedaliah [made great by God, a son of Ahikam] son of Ahikam: the soldiers [men of war, mighty men], women [females, wives], children [little ones, young], and court officials [eunuchs, high-ranking servants] he had brought back [returned, recovered] from Gibeon [a Levitical city, a place of refuge]. word study 17 And they went [to walk, to journey] and stayed [to dwell, to remain] in Geruth [a temporary residence, a lodging place] Chimham [their longing, a follower of Barzillai], near [beside, close to] Bethlehem [house of bread, a place of food production], in order to proceed [to walk, to go] into Egypt [a country in northeastern Africa] word study 18 to escape [flee from, get away from] the Chaldeans [inhabitants of Babylon, soldiers of Babylonia]. For they were afraid [feared, stood in awe] of the Chaldeans [Babylonians, Chaldea’s people] because Ishmael [God will hear] son of Nethaniah [given of Jehovah] had struck down [smitten, slain] Gedaliah [great one of Jah, governor] son of Ahikam [my brother has risen], whom the king [ruler, monarch] of Babylon [city of confusion, empire] had appointed [made governor, overseen] over the land [earth, territory, region]. word study